Tuesday, May 8, 2007

Aloha Days on Oahu Part I

Yay! I successfully put together my first slide show! All in all I took 187 pictures over the course of my trip to Hawaii. I won't bore you with them all, but I will highlight the major things we did.

We left the Indy airport on Friday morning and arrived in Honolulu at about 5:30 that evening. I had a voicemail from Cody when we landed to let me know that they were all tied up in a soccer game so I could just rent a car and drive on out to Waianae. Well, that thought had crossed my mind but I knew we wouldn't really need a car until Monday so I wasn't too excited about the idea. Never fear, Autumn's outgoing personality had made friends with a guy who sat by us on the plane and the buddy that came to pick him and his friend up was more than happy to give us a lift. Getting in cars with total strangers (three men at that!) is not my normal behavior but we took a chance and arrived safely. They even fed us once we got there. It was sushi and mostly inedible to me but Autumn liked it.

Saturday morning Autumn and I walked down to the beach and took some pictures and let the sun soak in. It was so nice. That night was the Kokua Festival. It's basically a big outdoor concert to promote environmental protection for the islands. I just wanted to see Jack Johnson. If you're not familiar with his music I would describe him to you as mostly acoustic, kind of a laid back Hawaiian sounding James Taylor. You should check him out; he's one of my faves.

So, great concert & then off to church the next morning. Then we hit the Aloha Swap Meet (kind of like a Hawaiian Covered Bridge Festival) followed by a fast tour of the North Shore. I included a picture of Pipeline Beach. That's where they hold the big annual surf competitions. The water was so rough that day that the lifeguards wouldn't let you in the water unless you looked local (i.e. you couldn't be a white dude!). We hit Matsumoto's Shave Ice in Haliewa on the way back. It's a must for any visit to the North Shore. Always get ice cream with it and someday I'm going to have to go back and try it with beans, too.

That pretty much covers Friday through Sunday. I'll get back with you bit by bit and post the rest of the trip. I promise, it gets better & better!

5 comments:

Erin said...

I love your pictures!!!!! I'm not going to give you a "mom speech," but what were you thinking getting a car with boys you don't know. Okay, I'm done now. Love ya!

Adele said...

Great pictures - looking forward to more! I'm glad you had a nice, relaxing time.

I once got a ride from people I didn't know. I know it wasn't the smartest thing ever, but....I am blonde! The girl gave me a tract as I was getting out of the car, so thankfully they were Christians. What a relief!

Unknown said...

YOU GOT TO SEE JACK JOHNSON?!?*^%&? I'm so jealous! Love his music and sound. What was he like in person? Ice cream with beans?! Strange.

Mary Ann said...

Alicia -
Jack was fabulous! He started out singing/playing some with Eddie Vedder (not too familiar with that guy). The funniest part was when Jack was supposed to sing one of Eddie's songs with Eddie right there on stage. Jack flubbed the lyrics & started cracking up. It gave you the feeling that it was a small crowd instead of a huge one. He connects very well with the audience & is very relaxed & not at all show-boaty. I love him. :-)
What's your favorite song/cd?
I know the bean thing is weird. The whole deal is shave ice, ice cream, whatever flavor you choose (like for a snow cone) & then you can add the beans and even evaporated milk. I haven't tried the beans or milk, but maybe someday! Gotta make a return trip :-) Check out www.matsumotoshaveice.com for more details.
Have a great weekend!

Unknown said...

Eddie Vedder, isn't he a hard rock singer? I actually really like Jack's curious george cd. Have you heard it? Reduce, reuse, recycle rocks the house! ;)